Animal - Computer Interaction 2019

CRI, Education building, University of Haifa

Organizers: University of Haifa, Technical University of Munich

12-14 November, 2019

Firmly set in the multidisciplinary milieu of the interaction design tradition, ACI’s roots are grounded in the theoretical, methodological and ethical foundations and values that have informed interaction design over the decades. ACI is growing out of this fertile ground to advance the art and science of designing animal-centered interactive systems fit for a participatory multi-species society. On the one hand, informed by interaction design approaches and frameworks, ACI research and practice aim to improve animal well-being, support animals’ activities and foster human-animal relations, thus contributing to the development of more inclusive societies and sustainable forms of technologically supported living. On the other hand, by accounting for multi-species actors as legitimate stakeholders and contributors in the design process, the perspective of this emerging discipline on the study and design of technological interactions has the potential to expand and strengthen interaction design theoretically, methodologically and practically.

Addressing the theoretical, methodological and ethical challenges encountered in the pursuit of animal-centered design requires the close collaboration between interaction designers and animal behavior, cognition and welfare researchers and practitioners, making ACI a fundamentally interdisciplinary field. Hence, the aim of the ACI Conference is to provide a venue and a regular opportunity for the multidisciplinary cross-fertilisation that is essential to addressing the challenges faced by ACI as a discipline.